Removable elevator cage



April 13, 1926.

D. F. LEPLEY REMOVABLE ELEVATOR CA GE Filed Sept. 17, -1924 3 Sheets-SheeI l April 13, 1926. 1,580,310

D. F. LEPLEY REMOVABLE ELEVATOR CAGE VWM f? April 13 1926.

D. F. LEPLEY REMOVABLE ELEVATOR CAGE Filed Sept 17 1924 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 51mm nto@ Patented Apr. 13.1926.

UNITED DANIEL ILEILEY, 'oric'ONNELILsvrtIE,- PENNSYLVAM.

' REMovAn-'nnnnnvxfron CAGE'.

Application filed Septimierl 1.7, 1924.' Serial No. 38`,3()6.-

T all 'whom t may concern: p Be it known' that'- I, DANIEL F. LEPLEY, 'a citizen of' the United States; residingat Connellsville,-in= the county'of Fayette' and State of Pennsylvania', have invented a new andI useul Removable' Elevator Cage, of which' the following is aA speciiication; c rllhis invention relates to a hoist unitv designedA primarily forv usev in' hoisting materia-'ls from mines and' for like purposes,. one

ofthe objects of the invention beingtoi provide the unit witha removable cage which can easily be placed in o r removed fromvposition'` upon the platform of thel hoist unit, thereby 'rendering the unit suitable for use as al man hoist. '.I'n some'ininesj-where a 'f singlev hoist unit is emplo'y'e'dl considerable time is-lost duri-iig changes in vshiftsof men diie to the preparation, loading andffun'loading of tl'iecages employedl for raisingand lowering-thejmen.V I The present invention is `designed=`as a means whereby theordinary hoist unitcan y be operated tl'iroughont the greater portiony of the work period and whenever'it is'desired to raise or" lower' ln'envi't becomes merely neoe'ssary'to movefontothe ordinary hoistunit a cage which has previously iil'led with men who are thusv ready' to' ascend ,or descend. In this'vay ytheloss of time due' to change of. shifts is reduced' to the minimum and thel output of the mine' can consequently be materially increased. u A' further object is top'rovide 'ac'age having simple and'A eiiicientmeansj.forlockmg ittoth'e l'i'oist unit so as to prevent displaceV ment of the cagewh'ileinttransit.; v

jVith the foregoingr` andfother objects: in' viewA which' will appe'anasf the vdescription 4o proceeds,'the invention resides in t he"com'V binatifony and `arr'ange''ment of parts and in` thetd'etalls 'of construction hereinafter de# scribed andc'l'a'imed, it being ui'iderstood .that

gFig. ,3 is a vertical transverse section through a portion o-thecage and the bail1 of theskipl showing the locking mechanism.

Fig. 4-is a horizontal, section through a portion of the cagef and bail' andV showing the locking mechanism inr plan.

` Fig. 5 is a section on line 5 5, Fig. 3.

It isjnot new to provide a minek skip with a platform, onegtype of a skip' of this lkind having already been patented by me vas disclosed i'n Pat-ent' #11,379,869 of .M ay 31," 1921. In the present instance the skip, in-V dicated generally at A, and which is vpro-y vided witha dump chute B at thecfbottom thereof, has the lusu'al supporting bail` C and track rails D areeX-tendedacrossf the open top-.0f the skip where they will notY interfere with the'loading ofthe skip but wherethey will be .brought into proper alinement with the ends of they track railsyat the diderent landingsto which the skip/is to be brought.

TheV cage,- which g-is designed to hold men-'tovbe transportedI comp'risesa skeleton -fvrame 1 suitably secured to a platform@y which, in

turn, is mounted onsupporting wheels"` 3.

rllhe -fr'aniel is provided with aclosed top 4 and' ador 5A is movably connectedL tothe frame. yThe frame 1v the'door' 5.0i:- the cage are provided withpanels'o of 4 lleavy openVv meshY andY any vsuitable form of latch 7 canbe providedfor fastening thedoor in 'closed' position'. 'lhis'ldoor is preferably sup portedv by hangerscarrying wheels 9 which travel along a rail 10 Secured-- tov the frame 1.

guide plate 11 having spacedeopenings 12 and slidable in the openings in eachy plate are parallel locking. ingers 13 extending fronra cross he'ad 14 and cooperatingfwith the cross head to forma locking yoke. yThese fingers are'a'lso slidable withingui-de hangers 15 depending"fromC the closed top y4 of the cage. ',Han'gersl 1f6`a're` connected tothe top- 4 and journaled within them is a shaft "17 provided with oppositely extending arms 18': To one ,off these armsis pivotally con- 'necteda' link 19 and this link is also pivot-v .whichy is attached tei-He, shorta'rrn- 24 f a bellcrank 25.' This bell-crank is connected.

to the frame 1 as shown at 26 and the long depending arm thereof may Je provided with a handle 27.

By referring particularly to Fie'` 3, it will be seen that when the handle 27 is hanging downwardly the point of connection between the rod 23 and arm 24 of the bell crank and which point of connection has been indicated at 28, is below the dead center s o that shaft 17 cannot be rot-ated in a clockwise direction. Consequently the locking fingers 13 will be held projected through the openings 12 in plates 11 and into corresponding openings 29 provided in plates 30 attached to the bail C. By pulling the handle 27 inwardly and upwardly arm 24 will be caused to pull on rod 23 so as to rotate shaft 17 in a clockwise direction and thus retract the fingers 13 from engagement with the plates 30. The handle 27 can be supported in raised position iy a chain 31 or the like.

It will be understood that under normal conditions a cage such as described is arranged on the track at the landing where the skip is to be loaded' with men. Before the skip arrives at the landing the men are placed in the cage and the door 5 is closed. As soon as the skip arrives at the landing the cage is pushed onto the rails D and when it becomes properly centered en the skip the handle 27 is released from chain 31 and swung downwardly and laterally. This will cause the fingers 13 to move outwardly into the openings 29 and astride the sides of the bail C. Consequently the cage is thus fastened securely to the skip and cannot become displaced. Thus the skip can be raised or lowered without danger to the passengers in the cage and when it arrives at the point of unloading the lever 25 isswung upwardly to place the handle 27 in engagement with chain 23 and retract the fingers 13 from engagement with the bail. The cage can thenbe pushed ofl of the skip and into the adjacent track whereupon said cage can be opened and unloaded.

It has been found in practice that by utilizing a cage such as described a considerable saving of time can be affected in transporting men when shifts are changed. Colisequently the maximum output ot the mine by the use of a single hoist can be greatly increased..

A's shown in the drawings, the top 4. ot the cage can be provided with a trap door 32 hingedly mounted as at 33. Thus under some conditions the trap door can be opened to accommodate long objects such as timbers, rails or the like placed on end in the cage for transportation with the loaded skip.

It might be stated that the use of the cage herein described will not interfere with the use of the skip for its primary purpose of hoisting bulk material because after the skip has been loaded the cage containing the men can be brought to position on the skip and both loads can thus be elevated.

What is claimed is 1. T he combination with a hoist skip having track rails extending across the open top thereof, of a man holding cage movable onto the track rails, and means within the cage for locking it to the skip.

2. The combination with a hoist skip and track rails extending across the open top thereof', of a wheel supported man cage mevable onto and ofi of the rails, and means within the cage for locking it to the skip.

3. The combination with a hoist skip having an open top and track rails extending across said top, of a wheel supported man cage removably mounted on the rails, means carried by the cage for holding it against movement relative to the rails, and means within the cage for actuating said holding means to secure or to release the cage from the skip.

t. The combination with a hoist skip having an open top and track rails extending across said top, of a wheel supported man cage removably mounted on the rails, means carried by the cage for holding it against movement relative to the rails, means within the cage for actuating said holding means to secure or release the cage from the skip, said means including slidable skip engaging members, a rotatable shaft, means operated by the shaft for simultaneously shifting said members into or out of engagement with the skip, and means for rotating the shaft.

5. The combination with a hoist skip and track rails upon the skip, of a wheel sup ported man cage removably mounted on the rails, and means actuated from within the cage for fastening the cage to or unifastening it from the skip.

6. The combination with a hoist skip and l track rails thereon, said skip including a bail, of a wheel supported man cage removably mounted on the rails, of bail engaging members carried by the cage, and means actuated from' within the cage for moving the members into or out of engagement with the bail. e

7. The combination with a hoist skip and track rails thereon, said skip including a bail, of a wheel supported man cage removably mounted on the rails, ofyokcs slidably mounted in the cage and means operated from withinl the cage for simultaneously shifting the yokes to straddle or to withdraw from the sides of the bail.

.3. The combination with a hoist skip and rails thereon, said skip including a bail, of a wheel supported man cage removably mounted on therails, slidable bail engaging members carried by the cage, a rotatable shaft, connections between the shaft and the slidable members for simultaneously shifting said members into or out of engagen Cil ment With the bail, 'an actuating lever, and a connection betvveen the lever and shaft, said connection and lever cooperating to provide a gravity lock for the slidable members when projected to bail engaging positions. 9. A man cagefor skip hoistsincluding a Wheel supported structure, a door therefor, locking elements movably connected to opposed portions of the cage, and means Within the cage for simultaneously actuating said elements to move them into or out of locking positions.

10. The combination with a hoist skip having an open top andtrack rails extending across said top, of a Wheel supported man cage removably mounted on the rails, means carried by the cage for holding it against movement relative to the rails, means Carried by the cage for actuating said holding means to secure the cage to or release it from the skip, said Vmeans including slidable Y skip engaging members, a rotatable sha-ft,

'means'operated by the shaft for simultaablv mounted on the rails, and yokes slidv ably mounted in the cage and means for simultaneously shifting the yokes to straddle or to Withdraw from the sides'ot' the bail.

12. A man cage for skip hoists including a wheel supported structure, a door therefor, locking elements movably connected to opposedy vportions of the cage, and means carried bythe cage for simultaneouslyactuating said elements to move them into or out of locking positions.

In testimony that I claim the `foregoing as my 0Wn,'I have hereto aiiXed my signature'.

` DANIEL F. LEPLEY. 

